Italian Neo Realism Flashcards
The term ‘neorealism’ was first used to describe a? that offered?
The term ‘neorealism’ was first used to describe a wave of films made in Italy at the end of
World War 2 that offered an alternative to the film language and filmmaking practices of the Classical Hollywood Style.
The end of the war and over two decades of violent fascist dictatorship had left a devastated country. Italian Neorealism was a?, and the working class in particular, was?
Italian Neorealism was a movement of directors, screenwriters, cinematographers and actors who all wanted to ensure that the reality of ordinary, everyday Italians, and the working class in particular, was presented on screen.
To achieve this these filmmakers committed to using a?
To achieve this these filmmakers committed to using a cinematic style based on visual realism.
The three leading directors of the neorealist movement were:
The three leading directors of the neorealist movement were:
• Roberto Rossellini – Rome, Open City (1945), Paisa (1946), and Germany Year Zero (1947);
• Vittorio De Sica – Shoeshine (1946), Bicycle Thieves (1948) and Umberto D. (1951); and
• Luchino Visconti – La Terra Trema (1948).
Unlike most mainstream Hollywood films, neorealist films focus on the ?
Unlike most mainstream Hollywood films, neorealist films focus on the lives of ordinary people, exploring the many social and political problems they experienced in wartime or post-
war Italy.
Many of Italy’s film studios had been ?making it? and this did indeed?
Many of Italy’s film studios had been destroyed during the war making it no longer possible to film there and this did indeed force many Italian filmmakers to explore alternative locations to film in.
Neorealist filmmakers, on the other hand, were? as?
Neorealist filmmakers, on the other hand, were not forced to do this as they were already making a conscious choice to shoot on location rather than in a studio setting.
Shooting on the streets of Italy was a ? to represent ? and with the?
Shooting on the streets of Italy was a conscious attempt by neorealists to represent real life as convincingly as possible and with the harshness of documentaries.
Neorealist films featured ?, which also helped to give the films a?
Neorealist films featured mainly non-professional actors, which also helped to give the films a feeling of being authentic portrayals of real life.
Director Vittorio De Sica explained the original motivation for Neorealism as, ?“an overwhelming desire to throw out of the window the old stories of the Italian cinema, to place the camera into the mainstream of real life, of everything that struck our horrified eyes.” (Shiel, 2006)
Director Vittorio De Sica explained the original impetus for Neorealism as, “an overwhelming desire to throw out of the window the old stories of the Italian cinema, to place the camera into the mainstream of real life, of everything that struck our horrified eyes.” (Shiel, 2006)
